His smile turned mischievous, but he looked at D and Dante before answering, asking for permission.
“Don’t get scared, okay?” D began. “He’s about toblink… Well, you’ll see.”
The air shifted around us the next second, feeling like the room was shaking against my skin, but nothing was moving. The Fae’s body flickered in and out of existence a few times, and then he disappeared.
Flabbergasted, I whirled around, searching for him all over the room, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Where did he—?” A loud gasp burst from my throat when he reappeared right next to me, a white paper bag with a silver seal in his hand.
“Chocolatecroissant?”
Shocked, I took the bag from him while the others chuckled. “How do you do that?”
“It’s my Fae nature. Spring Court Faery, at your service.” He touched two fingers to his temple. “Much like Dante wields the night, I can wield energy. I can see beyond the physical world, and sense, and manipulate the energies that conform the universe. Thanks to that, I can also move through them.”
“And he can give someone his life energy or take theirs away,” Vanessa added, placing one of the bowls withchole bhatureon her plate—it seemed like a sort of soup, maybe, along with a few pieces of fried bread.
Leaning over the tray, I smelled it, intrigued. It seemed delicious, but it also smelled spicy, and I’d never eaten anything like that. I took a bowl too with a few of the fried breads.
Handing the plate to Dante, I took two more empty ones, and grabbing the tongs, I placed a crêpe on them, followed by an empanada, an arepa filled with melted cheese, a small piece of theomeletta,and of course, bacon. The others chuckled at my selection, helping me with the plates.
“Wow,” I whispered to Bjørn. “So, you can still use your energy powers even though you were turned into—?” I immediately stopped myself, dreading I could offend him too. “I’m sorry if that was disrespectful, I don’t know anything about other supernatural races.”
“No. It’s fine, dearie,” Bjørn assured. “It’s truly a great question.” Having served himself, he moved toward the table, and we all followed him with our plates now full. “My race is the only race who can ‘remain Fae’ after being turned.”
“Witches lose their magic, Wolf Shifters lose their wolf, and so on,” D elaborated. “But the Fae remain Fae, due to their powerfully mystical nature. They just become far more?—”
“Mighty,” Bjørn finished for him. “Andtheyfound out in the worst possible way.”
I realized then that when Bjørn, Dante, and D spoke about him being turned they referred to the Vampires who did it asthey,andthem,like those were not the same as Vanessa and D, and it wasn’t worth mentioning their names.
“You can always ask anything you want,” Dante assured, sitting next to me.
“Thank you.” Pausing, I suddenly realized that someone was missing; someone I had seen when I awoke back at the mountain, but I hadn’t seen since. My gaze went to the hallway that led to the rooms, wondering if maybe he was still getting ready.
“Expecting someone, dearie?”
Blinking, I nodded to the Fae. “Where is the Wolf Shifter? Should we wait for him to eat?”
My gaze searched the others’, seeing Vanessa smile as though they all shared a secret. When my eyes moved to Dante and D, they exchanged a glance, their smirks syncing like they were pleased I’d asked about him.
“Hannes is not here right now,” D was the one to answer. “He had to travel back home and tend to some royal matters.
“Nevertheless, I’m certain he’s eager to see you again too,” Dante added with a naughty tenor to his voice.
My cheeks flushed with his insinuation and my mouth almost opened to deny it, but my wolf’s strong disappointment at his absence stopped me.“What the hell, the Wolf Shifter too?”I bit my tongue, completely clueless as to whatroyal mattersmeant for him.
“Very well then. Let’s enjoy.” With a pleased nod, Bjørn began to eat, and everyone else focused on their breakfast.
My gaze went to all my plates, and I couldn’t help but appreciate the food so much more than I ever had. I chose it for myself, and it all looked so tasty. The first bite took my breath away, and my stomach violently reminded me that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. The others chuckled when I began to gulf everything down, and I wasn’t even sorry.
I suspected it was far more than just the delicious food that made this special. Something told me this was my first bite of true freedom.
After breakfast, everyone moved in a different direction, with D getting keys from a narrow table next to what I figured was the main door out of here. I stood there, glancing at all of them and wondering what I was supposed to do next.
“I’m going to continue searching for her,” Bjørn offered, stopping next to me, and placing a caring hand on my shoulder.“Iwillfind Isis,” he vowed, voice filled with conviction and what appeared to be pain.
“Thank you so much for doing this. It means everything,” I genuinely answered, watching him bow his head beforeblinkingout of the room.
